Well, I just went through buying a rack system and ended up getting a full Thule system that mounts to the factory rails (460R/419). All the pieces have not yet been delivered. Now I find out that may have been a mistake as Thule has made this combination obsolete because of (as told by a local Thule distributor) vibration and stability issues with heavier loads when mounted to the factory rails. I was told that they would be OK with skis or bikes, but not to put a cargo box on them. The factory rails _are_ pretty flimsy and the 419 clamps, which I have received, don't seem to have a lot to mount to.

It is kind of sad when a vehicle like this is outfitted with this kind of useless rail. It would have been better just to leave them off if you can't use them... I guess it opens up a great opportunity for the aftermarket. Jeep dropped the ball on this one. I am hoping Thule and/or Mopar come up with a suitable mount for crossbars with the original rails or replacement rails.

Sounds like you've discovered the reason that everyone is dumping their rail mounted racks. I'm hoping that Thule & Yakima are just in a transition between designs… but I'm not going to place any bets on that.

I guess I'll have to settle with the Rocky-Road rail/rack system. I was hoping for a fuel saving, aerodynamic, option but if that ain't available I'll go with the best looking, super rugged, round bars that I can find!

Well, I just went through buying a rack system and ended up getting a full Thule system that mounts to the factory rails (460R/419). All the pieces have not yet been delivered. Now I find out that may have been a mistake as Thule has made this combination obsolete because of (as told by a local Thule distributor) vibration and stability issues with heavier loads when mounted to the factory rails. I was told that they would be OK with skis or bikes, but not to put a cargo box on them. The factory rails _are_ pretty flimsy and the 419 clamps, which I have received, don't seem to have a lot to mount to.

It is kind of sad when a vehicle like this is outfitted with this kind of useless rail. It would have been better just to leave them off if you can't use them... I guess it opens up a great opportunity for the aftermarket. Jeep dropped the ball on this one. I am hoping Thule and/or Mopar come up with a suitable mount for crossbars with the original rails or replacement rails.

Your sentiments pretty much echo what I said in another thread about the factory rails. All Jeep had to do was install raised rails instead of these dumb flush rails. I'm even starting to notice that older Grand Cherokees had raised rails. Not what I'd call a step in the right direction doing away with them.

I wish I would have seen the Rocky Road rails before. It looks like they did it the right way. Errr. I am disappointed that I can't throw stuff on the roof like I could with my old Jimmy.

We got a great deal on a complete Thule setup with ski rack, 3 bike attachments, etc. for their aero bar system on a Black Friday sale for far less than the best prices that I have seen anywhere along free shipping from autoanything.com. We had a Yakima round bar system before and the noise was just too much. The really humorous part is that on the autoanything site they show a picture of a WK2 with the now obsolete rail-mount system and cargo box, which Thule no longer recommends.

The somewhat odd thing is that I haven't seen any reports of racks coming off or other issues, but suddenly all the rail mounts are going away with no mention of why. Maybe some great new option is about to be released and they are getting rid of all their old stock. I hope so...

Your sentiments pretty much echo what I said in another thread about the factory rails. All Jeep had to do was install raised rails instead of these dumb flush rails. I'm even starting to notice that older Grand Cherokees had raised rails. Not what I'd call a step in the right direction doing away with them.

The Trailhawk II concept has raised side rails. Hopefully that'll become a production item that can be retrofitted onto standard JGCs.

Can anyone verify that the crossbars and mounting towers (likely getting the cheaper oem version from amazon) allow surfboards and such to clear the antenna fin that is roof mounted behind the factory flush roof rails?

Can anyone verify that the crossbars and mounting towers (likely getting the cheaper oem version from amazon) allow surfboards and such to clear the antenna fin that is roof mounted behind the factory flush roof rails?

Thanks

The Yakima Railgrab bars are only slightly higher than the shark fin antenna. You would probably have to have the surfboard mounted right side up to work.

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The Yakima Railgrab bars are only slightly higher than the shark fin antenna. You would probably have to have the surfboard mounted right side up to work.

I have the same towers & bars. No basket though, as I haul a canoe. I've used Yakima products for a number of years & always liked them. My last towers were Low Riders & they were great. Very secure & easy to install or take off. (no tools required) I'm not totally sold on the Rail Grab towers, but they do work. I just don't feel they're as secure as the Low Riders, but that's because of these flush rails Jeep went with.
Did you get the adapter kit for the Railgrab towers? Big difference having that kit. Make sure you get that if you don't have it.

I have found with the RailGrab towers, tower spacing is pretty critical as is tightening them well. Took some fine tuning to get the tower spacing just right. I could go measure the distances between mine, but I think there may be some slight variation in the spacing between the tracks so it's best if it's a custom fit process.

I would say that for them to be very tight and secure, as you tighten the inner jaw, it should draw the tower down on the rail as viewed from the outside. Essentially, as I tighten the inner jaw, I have them spaced so that I have to rather firmly push down on the tower so that the jaw will slip under the inner lip on the roof rail. Then once the jaw is tightened well, just slightly deforming the shape of the inner rail, it's really snug - I can easily rock the vehicle using the bar end and it doesn't wiggle on the roof rail.

There is no doubt, to get the RailGrab tower really snug, it's a finicky process, but it can be done. I still do not think they are as secure as an older gutter mount like on the XJs. It is probably on par with Q-towers and Q-clips, also sometimes pretty finicky to set up.

What we really need is a solution where you pull the original flush rails off completely, something new bolts down to the factory mounting points, and uses a raised fore-to-aft rail system such as is on a Volvo XC70 or that Trailhawk Conecpt. We had this on the XC70 we had a few years back, and the Rail Grabs on that were awesome. That is probably the most secure setup you can get AND be able to easily get the bars off and on the roof quickly. The issue I have with Rock Road system that connects to the factory flush rails is that it's too tall and looks goofy with the cross bars off.

Can anyone verify that the crossbars and mounting towers (likely getting the cheaper oem version from amazon) allow surfboards and such to clear the antenna fin that is roof mounted behind the factory flush roof rails?

Thanks

Yes, I just installed these OEM type crossbars on my 2014 Overland Diesel, and they would indeed allow a long item to clear the shark fin. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
These are nice looking, well made, aerodynamic crossbars with a 150# load capacity. Perfect fit and very easily installed. I'll admit that they are not as nice as the OEM rack on my 08 GC Overland Diesel. It's a shame that Jeep didn't use that same raised rail and adjustable crossbar design on the new GC. These will do, however.